


Until It Breaks (Your Heart)

by Sykopath



Series: Linkin Park [1]
Category: Linkin Park
Genre: Afterlife, Angels, Brothers, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Heaven, M/M, Male Friendship, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sad, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-19 10:15:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16532621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sykopath/pseuds/Sykopath
Summary: Chester's reaction to Post Traumatic, and the events leading up to it and after it. Can be read as relationship, but it was written and intended for friendship.





	Until It Breaks (Your Heart)

Despite the freedom of his internal suffering, Chester wasn't too sure how to feel over his death. Sure, it's what he wanted, and he worked so hard for it, but watching the reactions of his wife Talinda, his own children, and not to mention his band mates, really broke Chester's heart.

That being said, the afterlife wasn't that bad. Sometimes the other angels were annoying and chatty, and he usually preferred his own space, but he'd been lucky enough to be invited into heaven, and it truly was as majestic as everyone had speculated. God truly did care about his own creation, and whilst the Angels couldn't connect with the living, they could still watch over them, a privilege Chester was sure hell wouldn't have.

People probably would assume that he'd watch over his sister, or his wife and children, but Chester never saw himself doing so. Talinda was perfectly capable with looking after their children, and with the help of his sister, he had faith in her managing to move on.

The people Chester did worry about, though, were his band mates. It wasn't that he doubted that they would eventually get over their grief, more specifically how they would cope with him leaving so suddenly. His family didn't have any connections that would put them in a bad position without Chester, whereas his band did.

Out of all of his band members, Chester knew Mike took it the hardest. It wasn't that Mike blamed himself, but Chester and Mike had always been the closest in the band. It was only obvious that Mike would grieve the hardest.

Chester remembers the nights he'd watch Mike and Anna sat or laying together, Anna comforting her husband over the departure of one of his closest friends. It tore at his heartstrings, but fate couldn't be changed. Mike would eventually get past his grief, just as Rob, Dave, Joe and Brad had.

There was one great thing his death had brought. Many wouldn't see death as something that could have a positive, but it was clear to Chester as soon as he saw it. His death had reunited the love within their band members, with each other, and for Chester himself.

There were several nights they had spent the five of them curled up on someone's couch, some movie playing in the background as they all lounged together, taking comfort in the familiarity of their friendship. It felt empty without Chester, but they somehow managed to make it work, and Chester may have shed a tear over it.

Contrary to many belief, Chester was present at the concert their held in his memorial. He watched on as the likes of other musicians sang their chart-topping songs, even shedding his own tears at Talinda's speech and the crowd's melodious voices during the instrumental of Numb. However, Chester remembers watching Mike the most, pride swelling in his chest as the younger male took to the stage, courageously sharing their song, In The End, on his own, relying on the crowd for Chester's parts. He remembers watching Mike smile sadly, watching the man shed some tears, and Chester hadn't felt his heart break anymore than it did in that moment.

Chester remembers the first time Mike got back in the studio, and Chester had never been prouder. He remembers watching as Mike sang, and it was a sound Chester cherished, in fear of never hearing it again. Mike had never prided himself on being able to sing, but he truly had the voice of an Angel. He watched on helplessly as Mike secluded himself from the production team, settling for sobbing in the bathroom, still clearly struggling with Chester's death.

Despite all the difficulties he had with the album, Mike managed to release it, settling for naming it Post Traumatic. Chester hadn't been surprised from the title, seeing as Mike spent many more nights awake than asleep from the trauma of Chester's death. The album was amazing, and watching the creation of it made Chester even prouder than he thought was possible.

However, with an album release came interviews, and with interviews would come questions about him. Chester didn't doubt Mike, but he wasn't sure how prepared the man was for interviews. Sure, he kept up his appearance of being strong and past grieving, but Chester knew from watching him that he struggled far more than he was letting off. It wasn't like Chester could do anything, though, so he had to settle with watching one of his brother's struggling.

Chester watched Mike's interview closely, closing his eyes in anticipation. To Chester's surprise, Mike spoke openly about his troubles, admitting the title came from his experiance with PTSD. Chester smiled at the honesty, glad that even though his death had done such bad things, it managed to bring out the better in one of his brother's. 

Even though he was in heaven and it might've been difficult to do, Chester did manage to listen to Post Traumatic. He may have been biased seeing as Mike was his friend, but it was one of the best album's he had ever heard; it conveyed true emotion and Chester understood all of Mike's struggles. Without looking at the lyrical side of the album, the actual composition of the instruments was astounding as well to Chester, not that he was surprised. Mike was a sensational musician, and he was glad that he could showcase it, even without the band.

His favourite from the album had to have been Ghosts, though. It was lyrically touching for Chester and he could sense the song's chorus was something they would've put on a Linkin Park album, and something he would've sung instead of Mike. It proved how strong Mike was on his own, and Chester couldn't have been prouder of the song on a whole.

It wasn't just him that agreed with his thoughts over the album. Over his time in heaven, he had managed to conjure up a few friends, and they all loved the album just as much as Chester did.

However, seeing the process of the album also made Chester see the bad parts of the process. He watched night over night of Mike upsetting himself, convincing himself that the album would never make Chester proud. All lies, of course, seeing as Chester couldn't be prouder, but there was no way to comfort his brother.

He saw Mike's most recent achievement as well. He watched above, smiling to himself at Mike's Post Traumatic tour, welling up with pride at the journey Mike had taken for getting over his grief. He watched on as the crowd screamed their hearts out, tuning in with Mike's songs, as well as Linkin Park's songs as well. His favourite to watch was In The End, the crowd screaming along to his parts, Mike's speech before the song and Mike joining in with Chester's part quietly, clearly reminiscing the good times they went through.

Chester watched over every show, ensuring Mike was safe and coping with each one, managing to get through each day. Of course, after some shows, especially the earlier ones, he broke down backstage, but he always picked himself up, mumbling to himself about making Chester proud, and how much better Chester was after being freed from his pain.

Whether Mike knew he was watching over him or not, Chester hoped he knew that Mike couldn't make him any prouder. He struggled, sure, and Chester saw that, but he was so proud of his _brother_ for continuing on, no matter how hard his life got.

 

_ **THE END** _

 

 


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